The most popular mobile social photo sharing app of recent times, Instagram may be making its way to handsets running on the Windows Phone operating system. According to a report by The Verge, sources familiar with Microsoft’s Windows Phone plans have informed it that the app may be made available for this platform.
Instagram was compatible with iOS devices since its inception. Due to the rapid growth of its popularity, its developers launched the service for Android devices as well. The author of the report by The Verge, Tom Warren states, “We're hearing from sources familiar with Microsoft's Windows Phone plans that an Instagram app will be made available for the platform, despite Facebook's recent acquisition of the service for $1 billion.”
The report goes on to add that when Nokia introduced its flagship Lumia 920 handset last week, there were mentions of apps that would be developed exclusively for these upcoming Lumia handsets. The author notes, “The company also posted a promotional video that includes an accidental look at Instagram for Windows Phone. In it, you see the app running as a live tile with comment and like information from Instagram. It's not clear whether the app will support the new Lenses camera functionality in Windows Phone 8, but it appears to be a standalone app. The slip up, similar to the sneak peek at Skype on Windows Phone 8, shows that Nokia and Microsoft are committed to ensuring Windows Phone has the most popular applications from rival platforms.”
The author states that sources are informing them that Instagram will not be investing its resources in the development of an Instagram app for Windows Phone. However, he quickly points out that the possibility of this app not materialising altogether is not definite and that in the past, Microsoft has built apps for Twitter and Facebook, which it updates on a regular basis. The author ends the report by stating, “Of course, Microsoft would require Instagram's permission to publish images to the service, since only unofficial Instagram viewers currently exist outside of the company's own apps without an explicit partnership.”
While Windows Phone could potentially get Instagram, iOS and Android users are reaping the benefits of the new updates that are issued for it. An official blog post now confirms that Instagram 3.0 is up for download for Instagram users, both on iOS and Android platforms. Available on their respective app stores, the focus point for the new, updated version is the browsing experience, affirms the post. Interestingly, the new update brings to the table, as the app's makers put it across in the post, "a new and unique way" to view their own photos and those of others on a map. Simply put, this means that after the update, users need not go through pages and pages of photos while browsing. The post further adds that on newer devices, users should experience improved browsing speed. Another addition to Instagram 3.0 is infinite scrolling in feeds; this way, users can view more photos, while browsing through the app and unlike earlier, they needn't click on "load more". Importantly, with Instagram 3.0, users can flag not only photos, but also comments for review.
Photo Maps clearly takes the spotlight on Instagram 3.0. Essentially a new way to browse through photos on Instagram, Photo Maps allows users to display their shots on a map. The Photo Map appears on a user's profile, and users can also view Photo Maps of other users from their profile. Before a map goes public, users will be asked to review the photos they geotagged earlier. Users can also remove their photos from the Photo Map. This way, any associated geo-data will be removed, but the photo will remain as is in your profile.
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